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PROCEEDINGS 


AT 


THE    DEDICATION 


OF 


THE    CITY    HALL, 


• 


SEPTEM.BEK    1*,  ..1  8  6  5. 


BO  ST  OK: 
PUBLISHED   BY   ORDER    OF    THE    CITY    COUNCIL 

1865. 


nSTON  COUJWiB  UW 


$5849 


CITY     OF     BOSTON. 


In  Common  Council,  Sept.  21,  1865. 
Ordered  :  That  His  Honor  the  Mayor  be  requested  to 
furnish  a  copy  of  the  beautiful  and  appropriate  Address,  de- 
livered by  him  at  the  Dedication  of  the  City  Hall  on  Monday 
last,  and  that  the  same  be  published  in  connection  with  the 
other  commemorative  services  of  that  occasion. 

Passed  :  Sent  up  for  concurrence. 

WM.  B.  FOWLE,  President. 


Concurred  : 


In  Board  of  Aldermen,  Sept.  25,  1SC5. 


G.   W.  MESSINGER,   Chairman. 


A  true  copy. 
Attest : 


H.  T.  ROCKWELL, 

City  Clerk,  pro  tempore. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

Boston  Library  Consortium  Member  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/proceedingsatded1865bost 


DEDICATION 


OF 


THE     CITY    HALL 


On  Monday,  September  18,*  1865,  at  12  o'clock,  M.  a 
joint  convention  of  both  branches  of  the  City  Council  was  held 
in  the  Council  Chamber,  at  the  new  City  Hall,  for  the  purpose 
of  dedicating  the  building  to  the  use  of  the  City  Government 
of  Boston.  Upon  taking  the  chair,  His  Honor  the  Mayor 
stated  the  object  of  the  meeting,  and  called  upon  Alderman 
Daniel  Davies,  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Public 
Buildings,  who  had  charge  of  the  work,  to  proceed  in  the 
discharge  of  his   official  duty. 

Alderman  Davies  then  came  forward  and  made  the  follow- 
ing remarks :  — 

Mr.  Mayor  :  It  becomes  my  duty,  as  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings,  to  surrender  to 
you,  the  chief  executive  officer  of  this  city,  this  build- 
ing, which  has  been  erected  by  the  direction  of  the 
City  Council  for  the  purposes  of  a  City  Hall. 

*  The  seventeenth  of  September,  the  anniversary  of  the  foundation  of  Bos- 
ton, occurred  on  Sunday,  and  the  services  were  postponed,  therefore,  until  the 
next  day. 


6  DEDICATION    OF 

On  the  first  day  of  July,  1862,  the  orders  were 
received  by  the  Committee  directing  them  to  erect  suit- 
able buildings  for  a  City  Hall.  During  the  fall  and 
winter  of  1862  the  contracts  were  made  for  the  exca- 
vation, the  stone  work,  masonry,  and  carpentry.  A 
portion  of  the  foundation  being  ready  on  the  22d  day 
of  December,  the  corner-stone  was  laid,  which  finished 
the  work  for  that  year.  Early  the  next  spring  the 
work  w7as  recommenced,  and  it  has  been  constantly 
prosecuted  to  the  present  time.  As  a  full  description, 
with  plans  of  the  building  and  grounds,  the  names  of 
the  contractors,  and  portions  of  work  performed  by 
each,  and  the  expense  of  the  work,  will  soon  be  printed 
in  detail,  it  is  unnecessary  to  give  them  at  this  time. 

Although  considerable  work  yet  remains  to  be  done, 
it  was  thought  best  by  the  Committee  that  the  building 
should  be  formally  dedicated  on  this  day,  —  the  anni- 
versary of  the  foundation  of  the  town  of  Boston. 

And  now,  Mr.  Mayor,  under  the  direction  and  in 
behalf  of  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings,  I  sur- 
render to  your  charge  this  building,  and  deliver  to 
you  this  key,  which  controls  its  entrance. 

To  these  remarks  the  Mayor  responded  as  follows  : — 

Mr.  Chairman  :  As  the  representative  of  the  Exec- 
utive Government  of  Boston,  it  is  my  duty,  as  well  as 
my  privilege,  to  receive  from  your  hands  this  key,  as  a 


THE    CITY    HALL. 


formal  delivery  of  this  beautiful  edifice.  The  peculiar 
felicity  of  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  is,  that 
their  work  appears  in  a  tangible  form  ;  it  is  not  placed 
upon  file,  or  bound  up  with  the  City  Documents,  but 
appears  in  our  public  streets,  and.  while  ministering  to 
the  wants  of  the  people,  gratifies  the  taste  and  embel- 
lishes and  ornaments  the  city.  The  degree  of  opulence 
and  wealth  which  a  community  has  attained  is  indi- 
cated by  the  character  of  its  public  buildings ;  and 
although  the  useful  purposes  to  which  they  are  de- 
voted are  of  more  vital  consequence  than  their  mere 
form,  yet  the  harmonious  combination  of  the  practical 
with  the  beautiful  carries  with  it  a  higher  illustration 
of  the  culture  and  refinement  of  the  people.  It  has 
been  your  privilege,  together  with  that  of  your  associ- 
ates, in  addition  to  the  usual  work  committed  to  your 
charge,  —  such  as  the  building  of  public  stables  and 
engine  houses,  police  stations,  hospitals,  and  school- 
houses, —  to  be  called  upon  to  superintend  the  erection 
of  this  crowning  glory  of  municipal  architecture, —  an 
edifice  wisely  adapted  to  the  official  and  business  pur- 
poses of  the  government,  and  also  an  expressive  and 
imposing  structure,  typifying  by  its  costly  and  elaborate 
embellishments  the  dignity  and  relative  rank  of  our 
city.  It  is  a  subject  of  just  pride  to  our  citizens  that 
within  a  few  years  there  has  been  a  marked  change  in 
the  outward  appearance  and  style  of  all  classes  of  our 


S  DEDICATION    OF 

buildings.  The  stranger,  who  from  time  to  time  visits 
our  metropolis,  must  be  impressed  with  the  architectu- 
ral progress  which  has  been  made  in  the  character  of 
our  private  dwellings,  as  well  as  those  devoted  to 
science  and  art  and  to  the  worship  of  Almighty  God. 

While  public-spirited  individuals  have  united  their 
means  for  the  erection  of  many  elegant  structures 
appropriated  to  the  institutions  which  bless  our  people, 
the  city  itself,  through  its  municipal  authorities,  has 
not  been  negligent  of  its  duty  in  this  respect. 

Whatever  difference  of  opinion  may  have  existed  as 
to  the  expediency  of  erecting  a  new  City  Hall  at  a 
time  when  the  dark  cloud  of  civil  war  was  hanging 
over  the  country,  yet  its  completion  is  celebrated  when 
the  bright  beams  of  peace  are  cheering  the  hearts  of 
the  people.  As  the  work  on  the  magnificent  Capitol 
at  Washington,  in  which  the  National  Council  holds 
its  session,  still  resolutely  went  on  during  the  dark 
period,  so  we,  with  an  unfaltering  faith  in  the  success 
of  the  country's  cause,  abated  not  one  jot  or  tittle  in 
our  original  design.  The  inflation  of  the  currency  and 
other  circumstances  may  have  swelled  the  figures  on 
our  Treasurer's  books ;  but  we  believe  we  have  pre- 
sented to  our  constituents  a  building  worth  all  it  has 
cost. 

For  the  patient  assiduity  and  skilful  manner  in 
which  you,  Mr.  Chairman,  and  your  associates  of  the 


THE    CITY    HALL.  0 

Committee,  have  discharged  the  special  duties  incum 
bent  on  your  official  position,  I  have  no  doubt  you  will 
receive  the  thanks  of  our  citizens.  This  building  will 
long  remain  a  memorial  of  your  devotion  to  the  public 
service,  and  a  monument  to  the  taste  of  the  architects 
who  designed,  and  the  faithful  Boston  mechanics  who 
have  been  engaged  in  its  erection. 

As  the  organ  of  the  City  Government  I  cheerfully 
receive  it  from  your  hands,  with  sincere  congratulations 
on  the  near  approach  of  the  consummation  of  your 
labors  in  its  behalf. 

Rev.  Chandler  Robbins,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  Second  Church, 
offered  the  following  prayer  :  — 

Almighty  and  most  merciful  God,  our  Father  which 
art  in  heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy  name !  We  would 
come  together  for  the  first  time  into  these  goodly  halls 
with  devout  acknowledgments  of  Thy  glory  and  Thy 
goodness,  and  of  our  dependence  and  obligations. 

We  adore  Thee  as  the  Architect  and  Owner  of  the 
heavens,  and  the  earth,  and  all  things  which  they  con- 
tain. Remembering  that  "  except  the  Lord  build  the 
house,  they  labor  in  vain  that  build  it,"  we  would 
thank  Thee  that  Thy  Providence  has  worked  together 
with  those  whose  skill  and  strength  have  reared  this 
edifice  ;  that  while  stone  has  been  laid  upon  stone  and 
beam  upon  beam,  no  hostile    power   has  marred  the 


10  DEDICATION    OF 

work  or  destroyed  the  workmen.  We  thank  Thee  that 
by  Thy  favor  it  stands  complete,  and  that  the  various 
officers  of  our  municipal  government  are  permitted, 
under  such  auspicious  circumstances,  to  take  possession 
of  its  ample  and  commodious  apartments  and  to  dedi- 
cate them  to  their  public  uses.  May  they  come  into 
its  unpolluted  walls  with  clean  hands  and  pure  hearts, 
with  new  purposes  of  fidelity,  and  new  interest  in  all 
that  concerns  the  welfare  of  our  city  and  its  inhabit- 
ants. 

We  thank  Thee  for  all  the  historic  recollections, 
both  of  civic  and  national  interest,  which  this  occasion 
revives.  We  thank  Thee  that  Thou  didst  lead  our  pil- 
grim ancestors  across  the  ocean,  and  guard  and  guide 
them,  while  with  toils  and  prayers  they  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  this  city,  and  of  a  new  empire  in  the  west.  We 
thank  Thee  for  their  faith  and  their  piety,  their  patience 
and  their  trust,  their  love  of  liberty  and  respect  for 
law,  their  fidelity  to  conscience,  their  political  wisdom 
and  their  practical  energy,  for  all  those  qualities  which 
fitted  them  for  the  successful  performance  of  the  work 
which  Thy  Providence  laid  upon  them,  and  the  fruits 
of  which  we  are  this  day  enjoying.  We  thank  Thee 
for  all  and  each  of  those  wise  and  faithful  men,  in  the 
long  line  of  their  successors,  who,  in  their  respective 
generations,  have  contributed  in  any  way  to  promote  the 
true  prosperity  and  establish  the  fair  fame  of  Boston. 


THE    CITY    HALL. 


11 


The  whole  history  of  our  city  is  one  continued  record 
of  Thy  favors.  May  we  not  be  ungrateful.  May  we 
not  be  unworthy  of  such  a  past.  May  we  not  be  for- 
getful of  the  hand  that  has  built  us  up  and  the  mercy 
that  has  blessed  us.  Let  us  emulate  the  virtues  and 
public  spirit  of  our  fathers,  and  not  through  pride  and 
impiety  fall  away  from  honoring  and  serving  our 
fathers'  God. 

As  our  thoughts  revert  on  this  anniversary  to  the 
adoption  of  that  Constitution  which  formed  the  basis 
of  our  national  union,  we  would  with  one  accord  offer 
our  thanksgivings  and  supplications  in  behalf  of  our 
country.  We  would  remember  with  gratitude  how 
Thou  didst  watch  over  the  infant  Republic,  and  protect 
it  from  foreign  enemies ;  how  Thou  didst  enlarge  its 
borders  and  increase  its  greatness ;  how  Thou  didst 
nourish  and  defend  it  till  it  took  its  place  among  the 
leading  nations  of  the  earth ;  and  when  in  these  latter 
years  intestine  discord  threatened  its  destruction,  how 
Thy  Right  Hand  and  Thine  Arm  saved  and  delivered  us. 
We  thank  Thee,  O  gracious  Lord,  that  Thou  hast 
brought  us  out  of  all  the  horrors  and  miseries  of  a  frat- 
ricidal war,  and  art  cheering  and  comforting  us  with 
the  blessings  of  reviving  peace.  O  grant,  we  beseech 
Thee,  that  it  may  be  a  righteous  and  permanent  peace. 
As  we  lay  aside  the  weapons  of  warfare,  dispose  and 
help  us  to  put  away  from  us  forever  those  lusts  and 


12  DEDICATION    OF 

iniquities  which  were  the  cause  of  the  war,  and  which 
would  be  a  perpetual  source  of  future  discord  and 
calamity.  Taught  by  the  bitter  discipline  through 
which  we  have  passed,  may  we  become  a  wise,  just, 
and  Christian  people. 

Bless,  we  entreat  Thee,  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  Enlighten  his  mind,  that  he  may  discern  what 
is  for  the  true  interest  of  the  Kepublic.  Enlarge  and 
purify  his  heart,  that  he  may  be  both  liberal  and  just. 
Strengthen  his  hands,  that  he  may  firmly  execute  the 
laws  and  vigorously  carry  into  effect  wise  and  equitable 
measures  for  the  reconciliation  and  reconstruction  of 
our  disordered  nation.  Endue  the  members  of  his 
Cabinet,  and  all  who  are  connected  with  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  National  Government  with  understanding 
and  virtue.  Discarding  selfish  ambition  and  party  pre- 
judice, may  they  work  together  faithfully  and  success- 
fully, with  one  mind,  and  in  the  fear  of  God,  for  their 
country's  good. 

And  now,  O  God,  we  would  humbly  and  fervently 
commend  to  Thy  continued  protection  and  favor  our 
beloved  city ;  its  Chief  Magistrate,  and  all  the  members 
of  its  government,  and  all  who  are  associated  with  its 
service  ;  its  institutions  of  learning,  science,  charity, 
justice,  and  religion ;  the  interests  of  its  trade,  commerce 
and  industry,  and  all  the  instruments  and  elements  of 
its  prosperity.     Save  it  from  those  things  which  divide, 


THE    CITY    HALL.  13 

corrupt,  and  disgrace  a  people  ;  save  it  from  luxury, 
intemperance,  faction,  infidelity,  and  every  form  of 
vice  and  ungodliness.  May  it  be  the  home  of  order, 
concord,  health,  intelligence,  and  humanity ;  of  all  the 
virtues  which  ennoble,  the  arts  which  adorn  and  refine, 
and  the  Christian  faith  and  piety  which  exalt  a  city. 

Let  this  edifice,  dedicated  and  set  apart  to  municipal 
services  and  duties,  be  a  centre  of  good  and  salutary 
influences.  Here  may  men  of  integrity,  discretion, 
and  practical  ability,  consult  harmoniously,  legislate 
wisely,  and  act  impartially,  for  the  public  good.  May 
it  stand  for  many  years  a  tower  of  defence  as  well  as  an 
ornament.  As  it  shall  become  venerable  from  age, 
may  it  become  more  and  more  venerable  from  associa- 
tion with  the  worthy  names  and  faithful  services  of 
those  who  shall  have  occupied  it.  And,  long  after  its 
walls  shall  have  crumbled,  may  the  spot  on  which  it 
stands  be  surrounded  by  the  abodes  of  a  prosperous 
and  Christian  people. 

O,  God,  in  Thy  great  mercy,  accept  these  our 
thanksgivings  and  prayers,  forgive  and  cleanse  us  from 
our  sins,  and  help  us  to  live  to  Thy  glory.  May  all  the 
kingdoms  and  inhabitants  of  the  world  be  blessed  with 
the  knowledge  of  Thy  truth  and  the  experience  of  Thy 
saving  health.  Give  to  Thy  dear  son  Jesus  Christ,  our 
Lord,  the  sceptre  of  the  nations,  that  he  may  reign 
over  them  in  righteousness  and  peace.     In  him  may 


14  DEDICATION    OF    THE    CITY    HALL. 

our  prayers  be  heard,  our  offerings  be  accepted  and 
our  works  blessed,  and  through  him  we  will  render 
unto  Thee  all  praise  and  glory  forever.     Amen. 

The  Mayor  then  delivered  the  following  address  :  — 


ADDRESS. 


ADDKESS 


OK  THE  MAYOR, 


FREDERIC  W.  LINCOLN,  JR. 


Gentlemen  of  the  City  Council,  and  Fellow  Citi- 
zens :  We  are  assembled  on  an  occasion  which  will 
hereafter  mark  an  important  era  in  the  municipal  his- 
tory of  Boston.  We  have  met  this  day  to  dedicate, 
with  appropriate  ceremonies,  a  new  building  to  be  de- 
voted to  the  local  administration  of  the  affairs  of  this 
city.  On  this  two  hundred  and  thirty-fifth  anniversary 
of  its  civic  birth,  our  minds  are  naturally  and  fondly 
carried  back  through  the  stirring  events  of  these  many 
years.  The  long  procession  of  noble  men,  who  have 
given  it  a  name  and  character,  again  pass  on  the  stage 
before  us.  We  watch  with  intense  interest  the  move- 
ments of  the  fathers  of  the  town,  who,  self-exiled  from 
the  land  of  their  birth  and  the  sepulchres  of  their 
ancestors,  landed  upon  these  shores,  and,  building  a 
home  for    themselves    and  their   little  ones,  laid   the 

3 


18 


ADDRESS. 


foundations   of   a   city  which    should   be    known    and 
honored  through   many  generations.     We  would  bow 
in  reverence   to  the  motives  which  led  them  to  form 
this  infant  settlement.     They  were  not  mere  adventu- 
rers, —  the   cast-off  mendicants  from  the  Old  World  ; 
many  of   them  were   men  of  culture  and   education  ; 
some  with  a  fair  share  of  worldly  goods,  all  of  an  incor- 
ruptible integrity  ;  yet  they  left  the  conveniences  and 
comforts  of  their  native  land  to  found,  upon  the  barren 
strand  of  a  New  World,  a  state  where  the  privileges  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  of  which  they  had  been  de- 
prived by  arbitrary  power,  might  be  enjoyed  by  them- 
selves and  their  posterity.     The  success  which  crowned 
their  efforts  is  illustrated  in  every  page  of  our  annals, 
and  is  to  be  seen  in  our  present  condition  and  prosper- 
ity.    Boston,  the  capital  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  through 
all  its  colonial  and  provincial  existence,  affords  one  of 
the  best  examples  of  the  steady  development  and  pro- 
gress of  civil  freedom,  culminating  in  the  revolutionary 
era,   when  the   sister   colonies,   espousing   her    cause, 
united    in    the    Declaration    of    Independence,    thus 
establishing  the  Republic   of  the  United   States,  and 
introducing  a  new  people  into  the  family  of  nations. 

Our  local  history  commences  with  September  sev- 
enth, old  style,  or  September  seventeenth,  new  style, 
1630,  when  the  Court  of  Assistants  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  then  sitting  at  Charlestown,  acting  under  a  char- 


ADDRESS.  19 

ter  granted  by  Charles  the  First,  ordered  that  this  penin- 
sula, which  had  heretofore  been  called  Shawmut  and 
Trimountain,  should  take  the  name  of  Boston.  Such 
were  the  peculiar  associations  connected  with  Boston 
in  England,  that  the  leaders  in  the  enterprise  had  re- 
solved, previous  to  embarking  from  their  homes,  that 
the  chief  town  should  be  called  by  this  name.  Boston 
had  been  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  persecuted  Puri- 
tans ;  a  large  portion  of  the  company  belonged  to  that 
city  and  the  county  of  Lincoln,  in  which  it  is  situ- 
ated ;  and  it  is  said  that  the  name  was  also  considered 
as  a  compliment  to  the  Rev.  John  Cotton,  a  distin- 
guished clergyman  of  that  place,  who  united  his  fame 
and  fortune  with  them,  and  afterwards  became  the  pas- 
tor of  the  First  Church  in  the  new  settlement. 

It  was  thus  early  decided,  on  account  of  its  natural  ad- 
vantages, to  be  the  capital  of  the  colony.  There  were 
other  places  which  had  been  settled  previously,  which 
had  a  claim  to  the  distinction,  such  as  Salem,  Dorchester, 
Charlestown,  and  Cambridge,  but  its  rapid  growth  and 
prosperity  soon  justified  the  wisdom  of  the  selection.  It 
was  designed  for  a  commercial  town,  was  limited  in  ex- 
tent, and  was  sometimes  designated  "  Blackstone's  Neck," 
after  the  first  settler.  Its  greatest  wants  were  wood  and 
meadow  land,  so  that  those  of  the  people  "  who  lived 
upon  their  cattle  "  took  farms  in  the  adjoining  country, 
which  were  granted  to  them  for  the  purpose.     It  was 


20  ADDRESS. 

feared  by  many  that  it  would  be  no  place  for  continued 
habitation,  for  want  of  a  staple  commodity ;  but,  as  early 
as  1647,  her  interests  had  become  diversified  ;  she  not 
only  raised  from  the  earth  and  the  sea  enough  for  all 
her  inhabitants,  but  had  a  large  commerce  with  Virginia, 
Barbadoes,  and  the  Summer  Islands  ;  with  France, 
Spain,  Portugal,  and  Holland,  and  even  with  England. 

Johnson  says,  in  speaking  of  the  colony  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  that  "  the  maritime  towns  began  to  increase 
roundly,  especially  Boston,  the  which  of  a  poor  coun- 
try village  in  twice  seven  years  it  became  like  unto  a 
small  city,  and  is  in  election  to  be  Mayor  Town  sudden- 
ly, chiefly  increased  by  trade  by  sea."  He  also  says,  at 
an  earlier  date,  that  "it  is  the  centre  town  and  the 
metropolis  of  this  wilderness  work,  and  its  continual 
enlargement  presages  some  sumptuous  city." 

There  is  no  clear  account  of  the  commencement  of 
our  municipal  government.  The  records  in  the  posses- 
sion of  our  City  Clerk  do  not  give  any  light  on  the 
subject.  The  affairs  of  the  colony  and  the  town  were 
so  connected,  as  it  was  the  seat  of  government,  that 
probably  at  first  the  Governor  and  Assistants,  the  ma- 
jority being  inhabitants  of  the  town,  exercised  all  the 
powers  that  were  necessary.  Sometimes  there  appear 
upon  the  records  "  Overseers  of  the  Town's  Concerns," 
or  "  persons  chosen  for  the  occasion  of  the  town."  But 
in  1645  a  regular  Board  of  Selectmen  was  chosen,  John 


ADDRESS.  21 

Winthrop,  that  year  acting  as  Deputy  Governor  of  the 
Colony,  being  Chairman,  and  James  Penn,  one  of  their 
number,  Recorder  and  Treasurer.  As  the  town  in- 
creased in  population  and  wealth,  frequent  attempts 
were  made  by  a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  to  secure  for 
it  the  name  and  privileges  of  a  city.  As  early  as  1651 
the  subject  was  agitated;  again  in  1708,  in  1762,  in 
1784,  in  1815,  and  finally  with  success  in  1822.  The 
whole  number  of  votes  cast  was  four  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  eleven ;  the  number  in  favor  of  the 
City  Government  was  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
five ;  the  number  against  the  project  was  two  thousand 
and  six.  A  charter  was  obtained  from  the  Legislature, 
which  received  the  signature  of  Governor  Brooks,  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1822,  and  was  accepted  by  the  people  on  the 
following  fourth  of  March.  The  new  government  was 
organized  at  Faneuil  Hall  on  the  first  of  May,  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Selectmen,  Eliphalet  Williams,  in  an  appro- 
priate speech,  transferring  the  powers  of  the  old  town 
organization  to  the  Mayor,  John  Phillips,  who  delivered 
an  inaugural  address,  —  the  oath  of  office  being  admin- 
istered by  Chief  Justice  Parker,  and  a  prayer  offered  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Baldwin,  the  senior  clergyman  of  the  town. 
No  single  thing  affords  a  better  illustration  of  the 
character  of  the  people  of  Boston  than  their  long  con- 
tinued love  for  a  democratic  form  of  municipal  organi- 
zation.    It  was  only  when  the  population  became  so 


22  ADDRESS. 

large  that  their  interests  suffered  materially  by  the  old 
customs,  that  they  would  consent  to  delegate  the  powers 
of  the  local  government  to  a  limited  number  of  their 
town  fellow-citizens.  A  watchful  and  jealous  scrutiny 
of  the  conduct  of  their  official  servants  is  still  a  marked 
characteristic  of  Boston,  and  woe  will  befall  our  city 
when  the  great  body  of  her  citizens  cease  to  take  an 
interest  in  her  public  affairs. 

You  will  not  expect  me,  gentlemen,  on  an  occasion 
like  the  present,  to  deliver  an  historical  discourse  upon 
so  inspiring  a  theme  as  the  annals  of  Boston,  tempting 
though  it  be.  I  have  alluded  to  the  commencement  of 
our  town,  because  the  associations  connected  with  this 
anniversary  required  it,  and  in  order  that  we  may  be 
reminded  of  the  days  of  small  things,  and  of  the  great 
contrast  between  the  distant  past,  and  the  present  of 
which  we  form  a  part.  To  the  student  of  history,  I 
verily  believe  there  is  no  more  interesting  study  to  be 
found,  than  the  record  of  the  events  which  have  made 
Boston  what  she  is  to-day.  He  will  find  that  she  has 
had  a  healthy  and  well-developed  progress  in  every- 
thing which  promotes  the  welfare  of  civilized  man,  — 
the  cause  of  religion  and  morals,  education  and  science, 
commerce  and  industry,  good  order  and  social  happi- 
ness. While  the  machinery  of  town  government, 
based  upon  the  example  of  the  mother  country,  was 
followed  so  far  as  it  suited  her    condition,  yet  better 


ADDRESS.  23 

methods  and  additional  institutions  were  organized, 
more  wisely  adapted  to  the  character  and  prospective 
wants  of  the  people. 

The  stirring  events  which  made  her  name  famous  in 
the  revolutionary  era  has  somewhat  overshadowed  her 
earlier  history  ;  but  I  contend  her  career  has  been  bril- 
liant from  the  first ;  and  her  intrepid  stand  against  the 
encroachments  of  arbitrary  power  at  that  time,  wras  but 
the  natural  consequence  of  that  education  and  disci- 
pline which  her  people  had  been  receiving  for  a  century 
and  a  half  in  the  defence  of  their  colonial  and  provin- 
cial rights.  There  is  not  a  more  pregnant  page  in  the 
records  of  the  progress  of  mankind  towards  civil  liberty 
than  the  part  which  our  town  took  in  that  long 
struggle,  in  which  she  was  finally  defeated,  when  the 
original  charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay  was  taken  from 
the  colony,  and  it  became  a  province  of  the  King. 
Then  commenced  a  new  era  in  her  history,  apparently 
dark,  but  gradually  lighting  up  as  she  successively 
combated  and  defied  the  several  British  governors, 
who,  representing  the  prerogatives  of  the  Crown, 
claimed  her  slavish  allegiance,  until  she  had  the  hap- 
piness of  seeing  the  last  of  the  loyal  line  forced  to  take 
his  departure  from  the  town,  and  sail  down  the  waters 
of  our  beautiful  bay  with  his  mercenary  troops,  never 
more  to  return.  The  events  of  the  revolutionary  pe- 
riod are  as  familiar  to  us  as  "  household  words."     As 


24  ADDRESS. 

Boston  was  the  theatre  where  its  great  principles  were 
earliest  discussed  and  promulgated,  so  was  its  vicinity 
the  scene  of  some  of  its  most  important  engagements 
when  an  appeal  was  made  to  arms.  The  long  struggle 
on  other  fields,  and  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
she  sustained  with  men  and  means  in  a  cheerful  spirit ; 
and  when  peace  came,  her  people,  and  especially  her 
mechanics,  spoke  with  a  resolution  which  could  not  be 
resisted,  in  behalf  of  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution, which  was  the  glorious  consummation  of  the 
patriot's  prayers  and  the  bright  herald  of  the  nation's 
prosperity.  At  the  advent  of  the  new  government 
under  Washington,  the  country,  saved  by  the  valor  of 
her  sons,  and  the  Union,  consolidated  by  the  provisions 
of  this  immortal  instrument,  Boston  again  started  on 
her  onward  course.  Her  representatives  took  a  leading 
part  in  the  National  Councils,  while  her  citizens  at 
home  embarked  in  new  enterprises  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  commercial  and  industrial  resources  of  the 
country.  The  keels  of  her  merchant  ships  vexed  the 
seas  of  every  continent.  Her  capitalists  made  the 
streams  of  New  England,  as  they  descended  to  the 
ocean,  work  their  passage  as  manufactories  were 
planted  on  their  murmuring  courses.  Her  mechanics 
and  artisans,  invigorated  by  the  new  motives  to  labor 
which  independence  had  secured,  added  new  wealth  to 
the  community  ;  and  her  professional  men  of  every  class 


ADDRESS.  25 

gave  a  fresh  lustre  to  science,  and  dedicated  their  learn- 
ing to  the  advancement  and  elevation  of  mankind.  In 
the  history  of  the  last  half  century,  she  has  been  in 
unison  with  the  rapid  progress  and  marvellous  success 
of  our  common  country.  Her  wealth  and  population 
have  increased  with  a  healthy  and  steady  growth. 
Often  reproached  as  the  representative  of  ideas  in  ad- 
vance of  the  public  sentiment  of  the  whole  Union,  she 
to-day  is  honored  as  never  before  for  her  unflinching 
adherence  to  principle,  and  the  Republic  itself  will  not 
part  with  her  fame  or  the  renown  of  her  great  men  so 
long  as  it  holds  a  place  in  the  front  rank  of  the  consti- 
tutional governments  of  the  world. 

I  must  confess  to  you  that,  in  the  preparation  for 
this  occasion,  among  the  multitude  of  subjects,  I  have 
found  it  difficult  to  so  order  my  thoughts  as  to  select 
the  appropriate  topics  for  consideration.  The  primary 
cause  which  led  our  ancestors  to  this  place  was 
religion  ;  and  it  would  be  an  interesting  field  of  survey 
to  trace  the  progress  of  religious  thought  and  theo- 
logical inquiry,  —  to  see  how,  with  the  advance  of 
years,  the  tenets  of  the  older  sects  were  liberalized 
and  new  churches  planted  and  prospered,  so  that  now, 
living  in  harmony,  we  have  the  representatives  of  all 
the  denominations  into  which  the  Christian  world  is 
divided.  Education  was  the  stone  upon  which  our 
fathers    laid   the    foundation  of  their  superstructure ; 

4 


26  ADDRESS. 

and  this  interest  has  been  so  prominent  through  our 
history,  that  the  modern  friends  of  free  schools  have 
sometimes  considered  it  our  special  token  of  regard, 
and  other  communities  have  gladly  followed  in  the 
intellectual  paths  which  we  have  marked  out  for 
ourselves.  I  believe  it  is  generally  acknowledged,  that 
there  is  no  large  city  in  the  world  where  the  people  of 
every  class  are  so  wrell  versed  in  the  common  rudi- 
ments of  knowledge  ;  and  certainly  there  is  none  in 
comparison  with  the  population  where  there  are  so 
many  institutions  devoted  to  the  higher  branches  of 
scientific  investigation,  and  to  the  encouragement  of 
elegant  literature  and  the  fine  arts.  Institutions  for 
charitable  and  philanthropic  purposes  have  always 
been  fostered,  keeping  pace  with  human  wants  and 
needs,  so  that  hardly  an  "  ill  which  flesh  is  heir  to"  is 
left  neglected  in  the  circle  of  our  ministering  agencies. 
The  glorious  success  of  our  national  arms  in  crush- 
ing the  late  Rebellion  and  extirpating  that  foul  blot  on 
the  nation's  character,  which  has  so  long  been  our 
reproach,  will  have  an  important  effect  on  our  commer- 
cial and  industrial  relations.  Channels  of  business 
heretofore  obstructed,  or  undeveloped,  will  soon  open 
to  the  spirit  of  adventure  or  enterprise.  Holding  fast 
on  those  methods  and  objects  of  traffic  which  have  been 
a  source  of  her  worldly  success,  Boston  is  destined  to 
expand  still  more  in  this  direction ;  and  that  prosperity 


ADDRESS.  27 

which  is  based  upon  a  mutual  interchange  of  the 
commodities  of  the  earth  with  the  handicraft  of  man, 
can  be  anticipated  for  our  city  with  the  liveliest 
feelings  of  hope  and  cheer.  A  modern  teacher  of 
political  economy  has  a  maxim,  that,  "  to  increase  the 
wealth  of  a  people,  you  add  to  their  power  to  bless  the 
world."  We,  therefore,  may  rejoice  from  the  highest 
motives,  at  all  the  signs  of  an  affluent  city  which 
appear,  if  we  constantly  bear  in  mind  that  our  duties 
correspond  with  the  privileges  we  enjoy. 

Another  class  of  subjects  pertinent  to  the  occasion, 
if  time  would  permit,  would  be  a  consideration  of  the 
various  interests  directly  connected  with  the  special 
prerogatives  and  duties  of  a  municipal  government. 
The  topographical  changes  which  have  taken  place  in 
the  town  since  its  settlement,  have  been  as  marked  as 
any  in  its  history-  Commencing  on  a  peninsula  of 
about  seven  hundred  acres,  with  its  additional  territory, 
mostly  reclaimed  from  the  sea,  it  is  now  not  far  from 
sixteen  hundred  acres ;  while  East  Boston  and  South 
Boston,  now  single  wards,  have  each  an  extent  of 
surface  suitable  for  habitations  and  business  purposes 
larger  than  the  original  town.  Some  of  the  prominent 
hills  in  the  City  proper  have  been  levelled,  and  its 
creeks  have  been  filled  up.  Many  of  its  ancient 
streets,  following  the  line  of  the  shore,  or  creeping  at 
the  base  of  its  original  heights,  or  suiting  themselves 


28  ADDRESS. 

to  the  diversities  of  the  surface  of  the  soil,  have  been 
straightened  and  widened  ;  and  this  is  a  work  which 
must  go  on,  to  meet  the  new  exigencies  of  a  teeming 
and  thriving  population,  —  a  prolific  source  of  official 
business,  and  involving  a  large  expenditure  of  the 
public  money.  Our  harbor,  naturally  one  of  the  most 
magnificent  in  the  world,  whose  spacious  and  conven- 
ient waters  were  the  very  cause  of  the  location  of  the 
town,  has,  through  the  ravages  of  the  sea,  been 
seriously  impaired,  and  deserves  the  most  careful 
management,  especially  in  those  schemes  for  the  city's 
enlargement,  which  an  increasing  commerce  may  re- 
quire. When  we  consider  the  millions  of  people  who 
are  in  the  future  to  inhabit  this  continent,  and  are  to 
form  this  energetic  and  busy  nation,  and  recollect  that 
the  good  harbors  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  which  connect 
us  with  the  old  world,  can  be  counted  on  one's  fingers, 
while  this  geographical  fact  presages  that  Boston  will 
always  hold  an  important  commercial  position,  yet  it 
gives  a  new  significance  to  this  interest  so  vital  to  its 
prosperity. 

The  sanitary  condition  of  our  city,  always  a  matter 
of  concern  with  our  ancestors,  as  is  seen  in  their  early 
appointment  of  a  board  of  health,  becomes  more  and 
more  a  subject  of  municipal  care  as  population  in- 
creases. The  liberal  supply  and  proper  distribution  of 
water,  the  fire  department,  which  protects  our  dwellings 


ADDRESS.  29 

and  warehouses  from  the  devouring  element,  the  police, 
who  shield  us  from  the  designs  and  acts  of  wicked 
men,  the  institutions  where  the  vicious  are  incar- 
cerated, or  the  unfortunate  or  the  insane  find  their 
homes,  the  finances  of  the  city,  the  construction  of 
sewers,  the  paving  and  lighting  of  streets,  the  markets, 
cemeteries,  hospitals,  public  library  and  schools,  all 
these  and  kindred  subjects  afford  themes  of  thought 
and  comment,  and  are  naturally  forced  upon  our 
attention,  as  we  sit  together  for  the  first  time  in  a  new 
building  to  be  devoted  to  their  management.  But 
your  patience  would  weary,  and  my  strength  would  fail, 
in  the  attempt  to  give  them  that  elaborate  consideration 
which  their  merits  demand. 

As  has  already  been  stated,  the  first  city  government 
of  Boston  was  inaugurated  in  1822,  at  Faneuil  Hall. 
Some  of  the  municipal  offices  remained  in  that  ancient 
edifice  a  number  of  years  ;  others  were  located  in  what 
was  then  called  the  County  Court  House,  the  building 
formerly  on  this  spot,  in  which  the  meetings  of  the 
Common  Council  were  held.  On  the  two-hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  the  town,  September 
17,  1830,  the  old  State  House  having  been  remodelled 
for  the  purpose,  the  different  branches  of  the  govern- 
ment, which  had  previously  been  in  separate  buildings, 
took  possession  of  it,  and  an  address  was  delivered  by 
the    Mayor,   Harrison   Gray   Otis.     On  the  same  day 


30  ADDRESS. 

appropriate  commemorative  services,  of  a  popular 
character,  took  place  at  the  Old  South  Church,  an 
address  being  delivered  by  Josiah  Quincy,  the  second 
Mayor  of  Boston,  and  a  poem  by  Charles  Sprague. 
The  city  government  remained  in  the  old  State  House 
about  ten  years,  when  another  change  took  place,  and 
it  removed  back  to  this  spot,  bringing  with  it  other 
additional  departments  of  the  public  service.  The 
edifice  was  formally  dedicated  as  a  City  Hall,  March 
18,  1841,  by  an  address  from  Jonathan  Chapman,  then 
Mayor  of  the  city.  The  corner-stone  of  the  edifice  in 
which  we  are  now  assembled  was  laid  December  22, 
1862,  —  the  anniversary  of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims 
at  Plymouth,  —  with  appropriate  Masonic  services  and 
an  address  by  the  Mayor,  Joseph  M.  Wightman.  This 
is  the  first  building,  therefore,  which  has  been  built 
and  specially  designed  for  municipal  purposes ;  and 
the  present  government  will  have  the  satisfaction, 
before  their  term  of  office  has  expired,  to  see  its 
administrative  offices  suitably  established,  with  the 
best  facilities  for  the  accommodation  of  our  citizens 
and  the  despatch  of  public  business.  We  have  no 
inspiring  historical  associations  connected  with  this 
edifice,  as  had  our  predecessors,  who  occupied  Faneuil 
Hall  and  the  old  State  House ;  but  the  vicinity  reminds 
us  of  the  early  past,  as  we  look  into  the  ancient  burial- 
ground  by  our  side,  and  recollect  that  Johnson  and 


ADDRESS.  31 

Winthrop,  the  fathers  of  the  town,  have,  for  upwards 
of  two  centuries,  been  sleeping  within  its  sacred 
enclosure  ;  and  that  not  far  distant  rest  the  bones  of 
Hancock  and  Adams,  and  other  patriots  of  another 
historical  period.  Nor  can  we  forget  that,  on  the  very 
spot  where  the  statue  of  Franklin  is  located  before 
our  windows,  he  played  as  a  Boston  schoolboy  ;  and 
that  within  a  stone's  throw  still  stands  the  Old  South 
Church,  so  redolent  with  the  patriotic  memories  of 
other  days. 

We,  and  our  successors  in  office,  are  to  give  this 
new  building  a  name  and  character.  May  its  sym- 
metry and  beautiful  proportions  be  emblematical  of  the 
purity  of  life  and  elevated  principles  of  those  who 
shall  occupy  these  seats,  fill  the  several  departments  of 
public  service,  and  manage  the  municipal  affairs  of  this 
city !  The  past  is  secure.  The  general  character  of 
our  government  from  the  first  has  been  a  fitting  repre- 
sentative of  the  reputation  of  our  people.  Few  names 
upon  our  Municipal  Register  we  could  wish  blotted 
from  the  roll ;  for  no  city  has  been  more  favored  with 
faithful  and  devoted  public  servants.  The  most  afflu- 
ent in  fortune,  the  highest  in  social  position  and 
culture,  have  deemed  it  an  honor  to  participate  in  the 
conduct  of  our  civic  affairs,  and  citizens  who  had  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  some  of  the  most  exalted 
national  positions,  have   put    on  again   the  badge   of 


32  ADDRESS. 

office,  and  devoted  their  time  and  talents  for  the  pro- 
motion of  the  city's  welfare.  We  have  seen  in  other 
large  municipalities,  paradoxical  as  it  may  appear,  that 
those  citizens  who  have  the  most  at  stake,  and  whose 
fortunes  and  happiness  are  dependent  in  a  great  mea- 
sure upon  good  government,  are  the  very  ones  who 
take  the  least  interest  in  their  local  affairs,  and  those 
who  would  have  exerted  the  best  influence,  on  account 
of  their  intellectual  gifts  or  moral  character,  shrink,  as 
from  pollution,  from  the  discharge  of  those  duties 
which  they  cannot  neglect  without  detriment  to  the 
public  weal.  A  municipality  is  formed  to  organize 
order,  to  afford  protection  to  persons  and  property,  and 
to  secure  the  blessings  of  peace  and  prosperity  to  a 
community.  These  can  only  be  accomplished  by  the 
active  and  zealous  interest  of  the  best  men.  They 
should  occasionally  take  office  themselves,  when  their 
services  are  needed  ;  and  they  should  always  watch 
with  a  jealous  care  the  tendencies  of  public  measures 
and  the  motives  of  those  who  originate  them.  If 
Boston  has  acquired  any  reputation  in  the  conduct  of 
her  internal  affairs,  it  is  because  her  people  have  so 
distinguished  themselves  in  these  matters ;  and  when 
it  shall  be  otherwise,  her  glory  will  have  departed,  and 
she  should  give  up  the  right  of  self-government,  for 
she  will  no  longer  deserve  the  privilege.  The  pride 
which  a  Bostonian  feels  in  his  city,  whether  he  was 


ADDRESS.  33 

born  within  its  limits  or  has  made  it  his  home  by 
adoption,  is  justified  by  its  past  history,  its  actual 
condition,  and  its  future  prospects.  Our  business  men 
are  not,  as  in  some  other  localities,  mere  seekers  of 
fortune,  temporary  sojourners  until  that  object  is 
accomplished,  but  they  are  a  part  of  the  living*  com- 
munity, identified  with  all  its  concerns,  and  looking 
forward  to  spending  the  evening  of  their  days  within 
its  precincts,  or  within  the  influence  of  its  cherished 
associations.  Hence  a  public  spirit  is  fostered,  which 
pervades  every  class  and  condition,  which  interests 
itself  in  every  cause  which  will  add  to  the  good  name 
and  fame  of  the  city,  and  which  in  the  affluent  is  so 
often  illustrated  in  the  liberal  endowments  of  our 
literary  and  charitable  institutions. 

In  ancient  times  cities  were  established,  under  a  dif- 
ferent form  of  civilization,  for  mutual  protection  of  the 
people,  and  were  surrounded  with  walls  and  fortifica- 
tions as  a  defence  against  a  common  enemy.  Now, 
business  is  their  mother,  and  while  it  is  the  chief  inter- 
est and  the  greatest  element  in  their  outward  growth, 
they  become  the  great  centres  of  mischief  unless  there 
is  in  the  inhabitants  a  love  of  religion  and  virtue,  and 
a  taste  for  those  objects  of  nature  and  art  which 
ennoble  the  mind  and  refine  the  character.  I  do  not 
believe,  with  Jefferson,  that  "great  cities  are  great 
sores,"  for  I  hold  that  municipalities  were  the  first  to 


34  ADDRESS. 

be  identified  with  the  cause  of  popular  liberty ;  but  we 
may  accept  the  remark  as  a  warning,  and  endeavor  to 
make  our  city  the  great  fountain  from  which  shall 
spread  those  influences  which  shall  be  for  the  healing 
of  the  nation. 

In  addition  to  the  local  associations  connected  with 
this  day,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  it  is  also  the  anni- 
versary of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  Sharing  with  the  whole  country  in  the 
blessings  of  the  Union,  no  city  has  been  more  loyal 
than  Boston,  or  has  exhibited  better  proofs  of  its  de- 
votion to  the  National  Government.  The  late  infamous 
attempt  to  destroy  the  integrity  of  the  Republic  at  once 
aroused  her  patriotism,  and  she  proved,  through  the 
long  and  protracted  struggle,  that  the  fires  of  liberty, 
kindled  by  the  fathers,  were  still  burning  on  her  altars. 
Her  sons  went  forth  to  the  field  of  battle,  or  stood  upon 
the  decks  of  our  naval  ships,  taking  their  lives  in  their 
hands  for  the  common  defence,  while  her  daughters 
lent  their  ministering  aid  by  the  bedsides  of  the 
wounded  and  dying  in  the  hospitals,  or,  remaining  at 
home,  comforted  and  cheered  the  absent  by  their 
timely  contributions  to  their  pressing  needs.  The  old 
flag,  whose  beautiful  colors  have  always  mingled 
gracefully  with  the  atmosphere  which  surrounds  our 
habitations,  now  floats  over  a  reunited  country. 
Streaming  in  the  free  air  as  the  representative  of  noble 


ADDRESS.  35 

ideas  and  a  great  nationality,  the  best  interests  of  hu- 
manity fostered  and  protected  under  its  ample  folds, 
its  honor  an  absorbing  passion,  the  people  of  Boston 
will  be  the  last  to  submit  to  its  humiliation,  and  with  a 
resolute  spirit  will  defend  its  fair  fame,  whether  assail- 
ed by  domestic  traitors  or  foreign  foes. 

To-day,  then,  gentlemen  of  the  City  Council,  on  this 
double  anniversary,  with  the  associations  connected 
with  the  memory  of  the  ancestors  who  laid  the  foun- 
dations of  this  city,  and  the  statesmen  who  framed  the 
Federal  compact  which  gave  constitutional  life  to  a 
nation,  we  appropriately  dedicate  an  edifice  for  the 
home  of  municipal  legislation.  Its  deliberative  halls 
may  never  echo  with  the  sublime  eloquence  which  stirs 
the  hearts  of  the  people  in  senatorial  chambers,  or  in- 
flames their  passions  in  the  popular  assemblies  ;  the 
subjects  of  discussion  may  be  prosaic,  but  their  results 
will  affect  the  happiness  and  comfort  of  many  homes. 
We  would  dedicate  these  walls  to  the  cause  of  good 
order  and  good  government ;  to  a  watchful  care  of  the 
morals  of  the  community ;  to  a  zealous  stewardship  of 
all  its  public  interests  !  Let  the  narrow  spirit  of  party 
and  partisanship  stop  at  the  threshold  and  seek  other 
theatres  for  the  display  of  their  intrigues  !  Let  official 
power  be  considered  a  sacred  trust  to  be  exercised  by 
the  most  worthy  citizens, —  the  possessor  himself  the 
bright  exemplar   and   representative   of    the    highest 


36  ADDRESS. 

standard  of  public  virtue !  Let  wholesome  laws  and 
wise  ordinances  advance  the  material  prosperity  of  our 
beloved  city,  and  the  personal  welfare  of  all  its  inhab- 
itants !  And  with  a  filial  obedience  to  the  commands 
of  the  Great  Ruler  of  the  Universe,  in  whose  hands 
are  the  destinies  of  communities  as  well  as  individuals, 
may  the  prayer  of  the  people  be  ever  that  on  the  city 
seal :  — 

"  Sicut  patribus  sit  Dens  nobis" 
As  God  was  with  our  Fathers,  so  may  He  be  with  us. 


BOSTON  COLLEGE 


3  9031   0111 


